Turning Any Class to Interactive Space: The Games Upgrading Learning Experience

Ariel Almos expanded EyeClick's target audience three times since he founded the company. In some cases, it was a conscious decision, to avoid the "milk cow" syndrome, and in others responding to external circumstances such as COVID-19. In all cases this resulted in success: the company kept growing, expanded its target audiences, and became a worldwide market leader, while deepening its advantage in the field of interactive
game projectors.

EyeClick's technology, combining hardware and software, projects interactive games to various surfaces and creates player engagement – from children and youth to the elderly. It began its way as a method to entertain and draw the attention of children visiting fast food venues and shopping malls, but it evolved from that humble beginning, and now it includes not only an interactive projector – the most advanced of its kind in the world – including hundreds of games, but also educative and therapeutic contents for children and the elderly, which already operates in various schools, educative institutions, and senior citizen nursing homes in Israel and abroad.

Almos told us that his interactive projectors – which already won various international awards (see box) were already exposed to millions of users in over 15,000 locations around the globe. "Our solutions, which are adapted to various target audiences, offer hundreds of high-quality games, and per the feedback we receive, they provide a unique user experience, encouraging physical, cognitive, and social activity. In fact, in a recent study performed by UCLA's sports laboratory, it was found that a game involving an EyeClick projector is equivalent to moderate-intensity activity at the gym, and importantly, encourages children to persevere in this activity along time thanks to the enjoyable game. From this regard, they fulfill an important function for the organizations and institutes who purchase them, whether this is leisure or therapy for the elderly, or the educational system, where any student can be engaged in advanced education, which empowers both the students and their teachers".

Hundreds of High-Quality Animated Games
Almos says that EyeClick realized a childhood dream of his. From a young age, he wanted to learn design – a desire he realized at a relatively advanced age – but life directed him to engage with technology. In the IDF, he serves in MAMRAM and Unit 8200, where he was introduced to the pre-Google world of search engines. After his discharge, he worked in the high-tech industry, such as Comverse Technology and its subsidiary Efrat, but he felt he was not fully utilizing his capabilities, and especially not expressing the creative side of his personality. He underwent a short episode in the Silicon Valley, after which he decided to establish a company in Israel, which will combine both worlds – technology and design, focusing on user interfaces and user experience.

"When I returned to Israel, I thought about the next phase in my life, and I had to decide between working in an existing company and founding my own enterprise. Many start-up companies were established then, and the "Start-Up Nation" buzz was all around, so I decided to "dive head-first" and open my own enterprise", he recalls. "At the time, I was studying in Bezalel and Camera Obscura, and my graduation project was developing children's interactive games. I decided to take the project one step forward and build a business out of it, thinking about developing a new game experience for children, taking something from the old neighborhood games we played as kids in the 1980's, but with a 21st century technological twist". The solution involved developing an interactive projector embedded with sensors, turning any surface it projects unto to a touch-responding and motion-sensitive surface – without requiring further equipment, with games suitable for any age.

The pivotal idea was to disconnect children from the screens they are constantly engaged with and provide them with stimuli causing them to stand up and move in space (actually, combine or embed the well-known and well-liked screen world into the physical world), in an enjoyable manner, combining active play and social interaction – but not through Zoom or the PlayStation Network, but rather in the same physical space, just like kids were playing prior to the advent of computers and iPhones.

Due to the high cost of such projectors at the time – thousands of dollars per unit – Elmos and his people mainly approached large retail chains, especially fast food chains, which could afford to purchase the projector and had real estate in hundreds of thousands of sites around the world, where the interactive games could be projected – on the floor, on the wall, or on the tables.

"Fast-food chains in the US and Europe mainly draw an audience of families and children. The kids soon get bored of the family event and look for an outlet for their energy. Our interactive games provide a good solution for everyone – the parents enjoy a long-awaited moment of quiet, the children enjoy an active game rather than face their smartphone's screen (but nonetheless catering to the young generation's expectations of the highest level of digital games), and the business can provide a unique experience prolonging their customers' stay and encouraging further purchases: more ice-cream, more drinks, etc. All at a much lower investment than physical playgrounds, and with a smarter and more efficient utilization of space, with low maintenance costs and a variety of constantly updated contents providing a repeated attraction", Elmos explains the rationale behind the demand for his product. "After comprehensive research and meticulous examination of technological reliability and our service quality, we became a licensed global supplier of chains like McDonald's and Burger King, with whom we work in thousands of sites in over 80 countries for over 12 years, as well as with additional chains like Ikea and organizations like NASA, Disney, and others.

It seems to me like a rare case where the world's two largest fast-food chains, who are locked in harsh competition, will work with the same supplier.

"Tell no one," Elmos smiles, "but it is a fact that both did not want to give up the uniqueness and advantages of our product. However, we guaranteed them that we will create different games for each of them, adapted to their brand, so that each receives its own unique product".

So, you became content producers as well.
"True. Our game library today is a rich and exciting world, including hundreds of games with high-quality animation, rich dynamics, and a thrilling experience on a floor, table, or wall. We have today over 400 games we developed by ourselves, from sports games such as soccer or hokey, through puzzle games, to educative and therapeutic games for a variety of audiences.

A New Line of Games for the Elderly
Despite the fact the Elmos could have taken his time to enjoy his role as and executive and appreciate the fact that giant international chains are among his customer base, he made a daring decision to refocus and offer the games to wider audiences – family entertainment centers, which are widespread in the US, kindergartens, schools, museums, and pediatric waiting rooms. After several years of working with the giant chains – which are highly demanding towards their suppliers and are challenging to work with but schooled us in product development and improvement and building a high-quality international service system – I understood there is a risk here, as they always emphasize competition between their suppliers, and they might wake up one morning and switch suppliers or want a different concept. Despite our success and satisfaction from working with such giant chains, we could not have based our company's entire future on them, and we went looking for further target audiences".

This decision has proven itself a correct one. EyeClick conquered new market shares in the US, including thousands of installations in YMCAs, daycare centers, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, as well as kindergartens and schools, pediatrician and dentist waiting rooms, and hospital pediatric departments – who discovered the advantage of hygienic games (where no accessories switch hands and potentially transfer infections and diseases), public libraries, and even churches and gyms. "In fact, any organization catering to families and children is within our target audience", says Elmos.

This worked well until COVID-19, which caused a global lockdown of people in their homes. Children did not visit play spaces, and adults did not frequent gyms. The company's organic growth was suddenly stopped and there were no new sales. But another opportunity appeared, in the form of senior citizen nursing homes. "Then, Hannah Hertzman, who headed one of Israel's leading senior citizen nursing home chains in Israel, came to us with a new need, and we immediately understood that we have a perfectly fitting solution", he told us. "Under COVID-19 restrictions, the elderly were locked in their nursing homes without an ability to leave and without receiving visitors, including family members. Their situation deteriorated, not as a direct result of COVID-19, but rather due to a lack of activity and attention. Our interactive games made them stand up, move around use their heads, and communicate with one another. One of the nursing teams told us about people with dementia who did not move or respond to their environment at all woke up and began playing. Amazing stories.

What is appropriate for children is not necessarily appropriate for the elderly.
"This is true, and thus we made changes. It is obvious that elderly people who never played any computer games in their lives will be less skilled in interactive games, but the simplicity of the solution and the fact that the interaction is completely intuitive and requires no further accessories such as a joystick or a VR visor, made the solution an immediate success. At the same time, we recruited a team of experts – gerontologist and therapists, who specialize in treating the elderly – and we developed unique games. Such as where the sensory experience takes the back seat, without explosions or overwhelming graphics, to respect the elderly and prevent stressful situations. Prof. Elhanan Goldberg, a well-known Professor of Clinical Neurology from the NYU who was involved in developing cognitive games for the elderly, helped us building the games, and we also recruited DR. Michal Hertz, also a well-known expert in gerontology, with a practical experience of many years in geriatric nursing departments in senior citizen nursing homes in Israel and England. We created boardgames such as varied puzzles, memory games, bongo, and calming interactive experiences with nature and flowers, touring the world's vistas, etc. We practically created a new line of games, which earned international awards and won start-up company competitions in Israel sponsored by Mediterranean Towers Ltd and the US Leading Age organization. At the same time, we joined and Eshel-Joint project, in partnership with the "Shitufim" organization and the Sheinberg Fund, who deployed our games in dozens of nursing homes. Following the success of the initial installations, we received a further grant from the Israeli Ministry of welfare, together with the Israeli Senior Citizen Nursing Home Organization to deploy 120 additional systems in Israeli nursing homes. To this date, we performed over 1,500 installations in leading nursing homes in Israel, Canada, the US, and Europe, and recently received a further grant from the State of California to widen our deployment to further nursing homes in the US. Several weeks ago, we won another prize in Japan, and we were chosen among hundreds of international companies who offered various technologies to improves the lives of senior citizens".

Is there a business potential in this?
"Definitely. After all, the world is aging. The elderly population grows, and some of it has money and, of course, more free time. Nursing homes and assisted living center seek solutions improving the quality of life of their residents and create inter-generational engagement with the young generation, who enjoys playing such recognizable games with their grandparents. Our solution is also hygienic, was proven to encourage motor and cognitive activity, and is also measurable – for example, one may measure motor activity, memory, and improvement across time. From all this information, we can produce all sorts of analytics for the therapeutic team".

How did the therapeutic staff react to this?
"They tell us that our games provide the elderly with greater motivation to participate in activities, encourage movement and social interaction, and energize the patients. Several studies were conducted about our games, and they show that elderly patients who tried them gained a 97% increase in motor abilities, 88% cognitive improvement, and 84% improvement in social behavior. There results are fantastic and encourage us to continue developing games for senior citizens.

A modular tool for teachers
EyeClick now employs approx. 60 employees in Israel and the US, working on development, management, and marketing. The company also owns a game development studio in Vietnam, which became in the past decade a leading gaming powerhouse with technological universities and arising creative talents. The company began as a bootstrap with an initial investment of several hundreds thousand dollars by the serial investor Guy Gamzo, and a few years later, Guy Gamzo, Jonathan Kolver, and Roy Oron further invested in it. The company installed its systems in over 80 countries around the world – from South America, though Japan and China, to North America and Europe – and it serves millions of people. Its cumulative sales scope exceeds 150 million dollars.

The current stage in the company's business evolution is catering to educative institutions and schools, embedding learning and educative contents into its interactive games. As in previous cases of extending its activity to new domains, the company meticulously and thoroughly approached this move, and replicated the successful model formerly used with elderly people. They recruited a team of experts of international renown in the fields of education and content and proceeded to connect to hundreds of contents such as Jewish traditional studies, geography, mathematics, English, Arabic, etc. – all adapted to the Israeli educational system's curricula, from kindergarten to high schools, as well as to Jewish holidays.

"The principal idea", emphasized Elmos, "is to create an experience which, at the same time, is both educative, teaching, encouraging physical and social activity, and enjoyable. The post-COVID-19 children thirst for a different learning experience, and the truth is that teachers are also on the lookout for new teaching models".

"The beauty of the tool we provide is that it is modular", he clarifies. "Teachers can choose premade contents on any teaching subject and use them as-is or adapt them to their needs and even build their own lessons from scratch. This permits unlimited enrichment of contents. Because everything is digital and available on the portal, they can share contents with others – the class itself, as well as other teachers, parents, and the product's ever-growing user community. The goal is that, in the future, the students will participate as well in creating contents, and will partner in creating interactive lesson plans for their classmates". The company recently added an AI tool as part of the content creation system, permitting the users to add new academic contents easily and quickly, on any subject and for any age.

How was this received?
"Excellently. We already operate in dozens of schools and educational centers in Israel and in hundreds of schools in the US. We became a licensed supplier of the Israeli Ministry of Education, and educational institute principals and community education department heads can purchase it through the Gefen system. The teachers and principals understand how any class can made into a smart one through these games. They experienced the way the games encourage students to cooperate, postpone their response, act flexibly, and solve social problems. These are resilience elements which also improve the students' wellbeing, especially in the present times.

"The fact that we can transform any class, sports hall, or auditorium to a shared interactive learning space, with a rich gaming experience and high interactivity, developed under the direction of educational psychologists, school counsellors, and school subject leaders, helps us penetrate the educational system. The teachers are especially pleased with the improvement achieved in language skills and from the wide content library, including in Arabic". A further and unique advantage of EyeClick's technology is that it permits any school to convert "dumb" projectors, which exist today in most classes, to "smart" projectors connected to the content portal, at a lower cost than purchasing a completely new system, which opens a new option to schools. The full system includes a high-quality Epson laser projector, permitting large projection in each class, and working for years without requiring bulb replacement – a significant advantage in such a long-term investment.

And the children themselves?
"They are highly excited. They love the games and are excited towards them".

We are talking here of a new concept of learning by gameplay.
"This is not new. Games were always an excellent way for children to learn skills. From the feedback we are getting, we know that our technology improves motor abilities, encourages "soft" skills such as memory and problem solving, and encourages social interaction in a natural and enjoyable manner. In fact, our system permits each student to realize their potential, to dully understand the studied material, and be fully motivated to learn. The change created by EyeClick is significant = from passive to active learning, from "disappearing" students to cooperative students, and from frontal teaching to engaging teaching".

You also work with special needs schools and educational institutions?
"Definitely, and we already performed multiple installations in special needs institutions for children and youth, including in centers for Autistic children. This works very well in special education. There is something wonderful in the immediate response of kids after they touch the game. As they sometimes suffer from sensory disabilities, they respond better to an action-result system, and this encourages them to act physically. On the other hand, there is no exacting physical demand, which is an advantage to children with difficulties in this domain. We also work with Beit Amihai, which provides services to children with developmental intellectual disability, and with the "Gan Betnua" ("Moving Kindergarten") manufacturing and marketing educative-therapeutic sports equipment for professionals, such as in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, special education, and more. We also work with the Anderson Center for Autism and other institutions, with excellent results".

You operate for two decades. Where do you go from here? What is the vision?
"I estimate that the educational product will become our flagship product, alongside continued activity with our existing clients. This subject thrills me. I adamantly believe in combining educational contents in games and see great potential in building lesson plans for teachers, which also improve the students' skill acquisition. The world's educational system undergoes major changes, and there is a growing understanding that frontal learning in class is a suboptimal way to impart information and skills to students with varied needs and in a rapidly changing reality, which the traditional education system finds difficult to keep pace with. At the end of the day, our interactive games open new creative possibilities for teachers and educators and upgrade the learning process.

"Our vision is to make the interactive experience more accessible and enjoyable for children and adults alike, including Autistic children and elderly people with dementia, all at an affordable price. We will continue jaw-dropping contents for all our audiences, materials which are both inspirational and enjoyable".

Company's web page >>

The product site for the elderly >>

A site for the field of education>>

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In Collaboration with EyeClick